Red's Promise
by Great Angemon
Summary: A continuation of chapter 38: vs. Dratini. Yellow helps Red clear the Viridan Forest of brainwashed Pokemon, and her affection for him grows. One-sided romance from Yellow, which means hints at SpecialShipping. I may continue this in the future, but I'm marking it as complete. Beta-read, for your optimum reading pleasure, by Megalink1126.


Red's Promise

By GreatAngemon

Red was lying on his back, eyes closed. Yellow was looking at him, worried. She had bandaged his chest, which had required her to take off his shirt. She was still blushing about that, but Red hadn't moved since.

"Do you think he's okay?" Yellow asked, holding Pika. Just then, she heard Red moan.

"Uhhh…?!" he said, his eyes flickering open. "Where… where am I?"

"You're alive!" Yellow said, smiling as Pika jumped up in her lap. "You fainted at the edge of the Viridian Forest. I was afraid…"

"Wait," Red interrupted, and Yellow fell silent, "What about the dangerous Pokémon?!"

"Hee hee," Yellow giggled, "The townsfolk finally decided to do something." She stood up and looked out the window. "They're going in now to calm down all the Pokémon."

"That's good," Red said, sitting up and grabbing his shirt off of the bedside table. "Something tells me they'll need my help though." He pulled his shirt on over his bandaged chest and grabbed his vest.

As he pulled it on, he saw Yellow was staring at him. "Uhh…" she said.

"Hm?" Red said curiously.

"They say our gym was destroyed in some humongous battle inside… and… see…" She trailed off, blushing.

Red waited, and she continued, "Nobody in town is very good with Pokémon, so I thought maybe…" She stopped again. Red waited. "…If you become a Gym Leader one day, could you come here to teach us about Pokémon?"

"Me?" Red asked, putting his hat on and pointing at himself.

"Mhm," Yellow nodded. Red smiled as he walked to the door.

"Okay!" he said. He opened the door and started running in the direction of Pallet Town. "When I'm strong enough to be a Gym Leader… when I return here… it'll be as the best gym leader ever. Just wait and see," he called over his shoulder at Yellow and Ratty.

Yellow watched as his figure disappeared into the horizon, then turned to Ratty. "He said he'll come back," she said happily, picking the Rattata up. She spun around, then stopped and set the Pokémon down. "We'll have to have a new gym prepared and everything."

She started running out the door, before remembering. "We have a little time though," she said dreamily. "We have a little time before he comes back." She lay down in the bed that Red had recently occupied, and picked up Ratty.

"Wasn't he the coolest person ever, Ratty?" she asked the Pokémon, and it made a sort of hissing noise. "Yeah," Yellow replied, "I know." She put her hand over the Pokémon's forehead, and she could see pictures of memories; of Ratty playing with other Pokémon, and of meeting Yellow.

"Do you miss being in the forest?" Yellow asked. The hissing noise again. "Then let's follow Red," Yellow suggested, "I'm sure that we could help, if we tried, and we could find some of your friends."

Ratty hissed, and jumped off of the bed as Yellow sat up. She walked over to her dresser, and said, "I'll be just a second. I want to change my dress." She pulled her dress off and threw it into a hamper in the corner. Pulling on the new dress, she hurried to her door.

"Let's go," she said, hurrying out and pulling the door closed behind her. They ran across the dirt road and into the forest, where Yellow saw the townspeople fighting off the wild Pokémon.

She kept getting shunted aside by the adults until she saw a few of her friends trying to subdue a Beedrill without a Pokémon.

"Ratty, use Hyper Fang," she said, remembering that Red had told her some of Ratty's attacks.

Ratty dove at the Beedrill and sunk it's fangs into its stinger. The Bug-type Pokémon flew away, leaving the kids alone. "Wow, Yellow," one of the children said. "Where'd you get a Rattata?"

"A boy helped me catch him," Yellow muttered, blushing. "I'm looking for him now. Have you seen a boy in a red hat and vest?"

"Yeah, he just ran that way before the Beedrill attacked us," another child said, pointing in the direction of the entrance to Pewter City.

"Thanks," Yellow shouted over her shoulder, running off with Ratty. They ran through the trees, hurrying past the people that were fighting.

They ran until Yellow could just see Pewter City, and they soon found Red and his Pokémon battling against a Nidoqueen, a Nidoking, a Golem and a Beedrill.

"Saur, use Vine Whip," Red was saying, "Aero, Hyper Beam, Pika, Thunder!"

"Ratty, use Hyper Fang," Yellow said, and Ratty dove at the Nidoking. Red looked around, alarmed, and then spotted Yellow.

"Get out of the way!" he said. He dove at her, knocking her to the ground and out of the way of a rock that would have slammed into her head.

Yellow looked up, and found that it was not a rock, but a wild Geodude that had been flying at her. "What are you doing here?" Red asked, looking angry, yet relieved. "Are you okay?" he added in a gentler voice.

"I'm fine, Yellow said, looking at Red's Pokémon, who were still fighting. "I came here because I want to help you fight the dangerous Pokémon." She saw Ratty was panting heavily, looking tired. "What's wrong with Ratty?"

Red looked around. "He hasn't been trained yet. You need to train your Pokémon before you take them to a real fight, or they won't last very long."

He pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Ratty. "Your Rattata is down to almost no health. It won't be able to stand, much less fight, in a couple of seconds."

"What do I do?" Yellow asked, looking from Red to Ratty and back again.

"Call your Pokémon back," Red said. He turned to his Venusaur. "This fight is too evenly matched right now. Use SolarBeam." Saur complied, releasing a beam of green light at the Nidoking and Nidoqueen.

They both flew backwards, and into the bushes. "These aren't normal Pokémon," Red said, looking at his Pokedex. "There's something off here." He called his Pokémon back to their Pokeballs, except for the Aerodactyl. "Yellow, do you want to come?"

Yellow looked up at him, and said, "Where are we going?"

"To see if anyone needs help." Red looked at Rattata, and said, "You might want to stay with Ratty though, he looks beat."

"Oh, Ratty'll be fine," Yellow said, kneeling beside her Pokémon and putting her hand to its forehead. She stood up a moment later, and Rattata looked fully revitalized.

"That's one heck of a talent you've got there," Red said. He watched Yellow, who retuned Ratty to its Poké Ball. "Let's go. The others might be having a lot of trouble, if what you said about no one being good with Pokémon is true."

Yellow stood next to Red, and he put his arm around her. Aero gripped Red's shoulders, and they were soon hundreds of feet above the Viridian Forest. "Down there," Red said, pointing with his free arm. Aero dove and dropped them through the trees. Red landed on his feet, but Yellow landed none-too-gracefully on her backside.

"Are you okay?" Red asked, smiling slightly. He offered Yellow his hand, and she took it, pulling herself to her feet.

"I'll be fine," Yellow muttered, blushing. She averted her eyes, making Red laugh, and saw a battle going on between a familiar looking Butterfree and Doduo against a Gyarados.

She noticed that the trainer commanding the Butterfree and Doduo was her uncle, Wilton.

"Ratty, use Hyper Fang," Yellow said, pointing at the large, Flying-type Pokémon.

"You're always willing to help, aren't you?" he asked, pulling a Poké Ball off of his belt. "Go, Pika."

Pika landed on the ground and looked up at the large, dragon-esque Pokémon. "Thunder Bolt," Red said, and Pika unleashed a large bolt of electricity from its cheeks at the Gyarados.

The Gyarados fell backwards into the plant life with a roar of pain, and Red said, "You okay, mister?"

"Yeah," Wilton said, sighing. "It's good you came to help me though, or I'd have been a goner."

He looked at the two children, and said, "Yellow, is that you?"

Yellow nodded meekly. Wilton whistled with amazement, saying, "Well I'll be. When did you get a Pokémon?"

"Red helped me catch Ratty," Yellow said. She glanced up at Red. "Red, this is my uncle, Wilton."

Red nodded, and looked up at the sky. "Yellow, do you want to stay here, or help me around the forest some more?"

"I'll go with you," Yellow said, blushing at the way Wilton was looking at her. "I just want to talk to uncle Wilton alone for a minute."

"Hurry," was all Red said. Yellow nodded and turned to Wilton.

"What are you watching me like that for?" she asked indignantly, making her uncle laugh.

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" he asked, and Yellow blushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yellow said, turning back to Red. She walked up to him, and he put his arm around her. Aero grabbed his shoulders, and they were soon flying high above the tree tops.

"Down there," Yellow said, pointing at a pair of Pokémon who seemed to be fighting.

Aero took a steep dive, and dropped them down next to an old man who was trying to battle a Dugtrio with a Weedle.

"Poison Sting," the man cried, but the needles bounced off of the wild mole Pokémon. The Dugtrio started moving towards the old man, until Red screamed, "Vine Whip."

Venusaur popped out of its Poké Ball and its vines ensnared the Dugtrio.

"Thanks a million youngster," the old man said, shaking Red's hand. Red smiled uneasily, embarrassed.

"It's nothing," Red said, trying to pry his hand out of the old man's. "I need to go now, so if you wouldn't mind…"

He stepped away from the old man, and a moment later he and Yellow were in the air again. "I think that's the bulk of them," Red said, looking around. "I'll take you home, Yellow, and then I'll be on my way back to Pallet Town."

"Can't we stay here for a little longer?" Yellow asked, looking down on Viridian City. "I like it up here. It's so pretty."

Red looked around. "It is pretty," he said. "But if I'm going to be the best Gym Leader, I'll need to beat the Pokémon League and talk to Professor Oak." He looked at Yellow's downcast face.

"I suppose we can stay here for a few more minutes," he relented, and Yellow's face brightened up.

After ten minutes, Red and Yellow landed in front of Yellow's house and Yellow opened the door. "Do you want to come in?" she asked shyly.

"No, I need to leave," Red said, turning away. "But I promise, I will be back, and when I do come back, I'll be the best Gym Leader ever." He turned around and kneeled down. "Do you remember what I told you about how you need to treat Pokémon, and them being your friends forever?"

Yellow nodded. "Then you need to remember that even though you treat them with respect, doesn't mean that other people will," Red said. "There are some people out there who treat Pokémon like tools."

"Those people aren't very nice," Yellow said, and Red nodded. "I wish I hadn't had to hurt those Pokémon," she said after a moment. "They didn't know what they were doing."

"I know," Red said, watching Yellow. "I wish we hadn't had to hurt them either, but sometimes there are times that you have to fight."

"I trust you to take care of Ratty," Red continued, smiling. He moved forward, and touched his lips lightly to Yellow's cheek. "I know I'm doing the right thing, leaving him with you." Yellow blushed as Red turned away, and she raised a hand to her cheek which seemed to be burning from the kiss.

Red started walking away, and a moment later Aero had picked him up. Yellow waved until she could no longer see him.

"He said he'd come back," Yellow told Ratty that night, as she got ready for bed. "He said he'd come back and be the best Gym Leader ever." She lay down in her bed, and whispered, "That's what he promised." She was still muttering as she drifted off to sleep.

Only one phrase was audible as she started to snore. "That was Red's promise…"

Ratty hissed as he fell asleep, and Yellow smiled in her sleep, her hand still on her cheek where Red had kissed her.

There it is. My first official Pokémon story. I'd like it if you'd review. Thanks in advance.


End file.
